Missoula County considers $100,000 for priority dispatch software and up to $204,000 for 9-1-1 console replacement; quarter-fund trade-offs discussed

Missoula County 9-1-1 staff presented a multipart request to the commission seeking funding to modernize dispatch operations. The request includes priority dispatch software to support call prioritization and pre-arrival instructions and replacement of eight 9-1-1 consoles — specialized, redundant workstations used 24/7.

Adrian Beck (9-1 center) described the capability the software would add: it would help priority-score and classify calls and "provide pre-arrival instructions so that those 9-1 dispatchers on the phone... can provide some basic medical direction while awaiting the response from our first responders." Staff also explained consoles are built to high-reliability standards with redundant components; the quoted estimate for eight consoles is roughly $204,000.

Funding discussions focused on the county's state-distributed quarter fund, a revenue stream generated by a per-line charge on phone service. Staff said the priority-dispatch software and console replacements could be paid from the quarter fund, if the commission chooses, but acknowledged that drawing those funds down would affect other quarter-fund plans, such as radio maintenance and other high-end equipment replacements. "If the quarter fund absorbed these expenses... that would set us back in some of the initiatives that we would want to do in future years," a staff presenter said.

Commissioners asked staff to model scenarios splitting costs between the general fund and the quarter fund and to return with an analysis of effects on deferred maintenance and other quarter-fund obligations. The commission paused the remainder of one-time-item decisions and scheduled further review at a Thursday administrative meeting.